Board of Water and Power Commissioners Approves Initiative to Ensure Equity of Water & Power Services across Los Angeles

A first for any utility in the nation, EMDI will help the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) staff and leadership examine service/infrastructure disparities to better allocate resources for the highest quality water and power service to all communities across LA. The data collected will provide information on the condition of infrastructure, frequency and duration of water and power outages across LA neighborhoods as well as how renewable energy, energy efficiency and economic development initiatives are allocated across the LADWP service area.

“Fairness and equity in delivery of services and programs is important to LADWP because it means a better quality of life for all residents and will vastly improve our efforts to transform Los Angeles into a cleaner, greener city,” said William Funderburk, Vice President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. “As we move to 50 percent renewable energy by 2030, it is imperative that all our communities, both affluent and low income, have the infrastructure necessary to get on board with energy efficiency, solar and electric vehicles and the inherent economic opportunities created by the new, green economy.”

EDMI will establish new performance metrics across the city’s demographic and geographic spectrum to increase transparency in core LADWP operations. These include reliable delivery of water and power service, equal access to energy efficiency, conservation and assistance programs, small business economic development for competition in LADWP contracts of goods and services, and equal access to LADWP employment opportunities.

The next step in the implementation of EMDI is to obtain input from key stakeholders with a preliminary report to the LADWP Board by November 2016 and every six months thereafter beginning February 2017 on programs results.

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